Black Arrow
by Jane Torres-Cooper
Summary: A collection of one-shots and two-shots in the "Don't Leave Me Hanging" verse detailing crucial moments in our favorite assassins married life. Because, I randomly get inspired to write Clintasha. Please read and review!
1. I'll Always Find You (Part 1)

Clint grabbed his bow off the rack and snapped it open, he adjusted the strap on his quiver and took a deep breath as the launch doors opened. His mission objective was simple: find the Black Widow. Clint was already a professional agent in all ways, but this mission was personal and made it even more important that Clint be successful. Someone had taken his Natasha and he wanted her back. His hand shot instinctively to the spider charm on his necklace, he rubbed the surface once for luck before he jumped from the small shield plane. The cold Alaskan air hitting his face set his senses into overdrive and he tuck and rolled into a perfect landing on to the snowy ground. This section of Alaska was pretty rural and the winters extra harsh because of the terrain. Clint was worried about the state he would find Natasha in. If her captors weren't adequately taking care of her she could be sick or worse when he got to her.

"Hawk, I'm at the rendezvous point waiting." Steve Rogers' voice came over the com.

"Copy that, I'm on my way." Clint responded and started running toward the east. He had to get to the rendezvous point before the sun went down or he would be in big trouble himself. Clint reached the rendezvous point only twenty minutes before the sun set on the Alaskan tundra. He hated how short the sun was out up here during the winter. At the rendezvous point Steve and Tony were waiting for him when he got inside. Tony was on the phone with Pepper, who was back at Stark Towers with Maria Hill and Jane. Natasha had been compromised during an undercover mission and they had been trying to find her for the past month and half. Tomorrow morning they would be setting off to infiltrate the facility they had finally located her in. Clint was clinging to the hope that she would still be alive when he got to her, and if she was alive she wouldn't be too bad off. Steve was laying on his cot in the safe house staring up at the ceiling. Now that Clint and Natasha's marriage was out in the open Steve and Bruce were the only ones without someone to love and it was affecting Steve more than it was Bruce. Clint sighed and threw his bow and quiver of arrows down on his bed. Even inside the safe house it was freezing so Clint had to keep his massive jacket on. He nodded to Steve and Tony in acknowledgement before climbing in to the bed and burrowing himself in the covers. He closed his eyes and willed for sleep to come over him.

Meanwhile in a facility twenty miles from the safe house Natasha sat on the floor of her cell with her knees drawn up to her chest. She was freezing and her side ached from where they had tortured her to try and find out who she was working for. She was certain they had broken a few ribs. She was also positive that her left ankle was broken. Her shoulder was visibly out of socket and she was pretty sure her elbow was broken as well. The rough pain in her chest and her constant coughing combined with chills that made her believe she had a fever; confirmed the worries she had that she was getting terribly sick. A single tear slipped out of her eye and she pulled her knees in closer to her chest as coughs racked throughout her body.

"Clint please hurry." She whispered hoarsely and broke into an intense coughing fit. She was horrified to find that she had coughed up blood into her hand. She knew then that Clint needed to find her soon, or there wouldn't be much of her left to find. She had been feeling feverish and her chest had been hurting for the last two days. She'd only been coughing since yesterday. Today nausea had been added to her long list of symptoms. She hadn't thrown up yet, but she felt like she could at any minute. The torture hadn't been too bad before she had started to get sick. It had started out as just fatigue but now it was so much worse. She coughed roughly again and drifted off to sleep.

When Clint woke up the next morning he felt more exhausted than he did when he went to bed. His heart was heavy and he had a horrible feeling that Natasha was in bad shape. So he went on ahead of Tony and Steve to get to her as soon as possible. The trek across the Alaskan Landscape was rough but Clint ran as fast as he could anyways. He was two miles out from Natasha's recorded location when Tony's voice came over the com.

"Hawk, where are you?" Tony asked.

"Two miles out from the facility. I have a bad feeling that Nat won't hold on much longer so I left early." Clint replied.

"Cap and I are on our way. Wait before entering the facility. I'll be there in five minutes." Tony ordered. Clint sighed and picked up his pace. Five minutes for Tony would take Clint at least fifteen to go the next two miles. When he finally reached the outskirts of the facility he found Tony already scoping out a way into the facility.

"How does it look?" Clint asked as he approached Tony. The Iron Man shrugged.

"Actually. This security system sucks. This will be a piece of cake. The people inside are the problem." Tony reported. Clint nodded and briefly checked his quiver for an arrow count.

"I've got fifty arrows, so I think I'm good." Clint told him. Tony nodded. Steve pulled up next to us on his bike and flipped the engine off. He adjusted his shield on his back before stepping off his bike.

"What's the plan?" Steve asked. Tony shrugged.

"Charge?" He suggested. Steve rolled his eyes, but Clint nodded in agreement.

"I'll sneak in and find Natasha. Once I've located her you guys come in and blow the crap out of people as a distraction so I can get her out. You said Fury has a transport on standby?" Clint asked. Steve nodded and Tony started chuckling.

"Blow the crap out of people? Nice word choice." Tony laughed. Steve rolled his eyes and Clint glared.

"Tony, be serious. I have a horrible feeling Nat is seriously injured. Fury has a transport on standby, right?" Clint asked patiently. Steve nodded. "Alright, I'm going in. I'll let you know when I have Natasha." Clint told them. They nodded in response and he slipped through a crack in the fence line. He stayed low to the ground as he ran across the field and up to the side of the building. He ran along it until he found a good window to climb into. As soon as his feet hit the ground of the inside he heard loud coughing coming from down the hallway followed by screaming. His heart dropped. That was Natasha screaming. He immediately took off running toward the sound. His footsteps never made a sound though. He followed the sound of harsh coughing and whimpers of pain down the halls until he found himself outside a door. He peeked inside and found that Natasha was now alone in a cell on the floor curled into a fetal position. He could tell her breathing was off by the rising and falling of her chest. He busted open the door and she glanced up at him weakly. A small spread slowly across her face. Clint's heart broke for his wife and he ran quickly to her side.

"Clint… I knew… I knew… you... would… find… me." Her voice rasped painfully and she broke into another coughing fit. Clint smiled and he reached up to push her hair out of her eyes. Her hair was matted with sweat and without even fully touching it he could feel the heat radiating from it. Her fever was dangerously high.

"Oh Nat. They were horrible to you." He sighed angrily. Nat nodded and coughed harshly again. Clint was horrified to find that she had coughed up blood. This was bad. "What hurts?" Clint asked. He could tell she probably had pneumonia and her shoulder was obviously dislocated, but he wasn't sure what else was wrong.

"Ankle… ribs…elbow." She wheezed between each word. Clint sighed and shook his head angrily. He wanted to kill the jerks who did this to her.

"Alright. I'm going to get you out of here. Hold on Nat." He promised her and picked her slowly up off the ground. "Cap. Stark. I've got Nat. Cover me." He barked into the com.

"Roger." Tony answered. Clint smiled at Natasha.

"Ready Nat?" He asked. She nodded weakly and buried her face into Clint's jacket. Her body was shaking in his arms and it worried him so much. He had never gotten out of a building so fast in his life. Thankfully Fury was waiting for him at the end of the drop gate of the plane to help him bring Nat inside. Once inside Fury led them into the main area where a cot was pushed up against the wall with some basic medical supplies nearby. Clint gently laid his wounded wife down on the cot and started to take care of her as the S.H.I.E.L.D aircraft lifted off the ground.

"Cold." Nat mumbled deliriously. Clint smiled sympathetically at her.

"Hold on babe. I've got to do somethings before I can cover you up. This is going to hurt just a bit." Clint warned and stuck an IV needle into her uninjured arm. Nat hardly flinched. Clint started her on an IV of fluids and some Morphine for all of her injuries before he proceeded with any more of his exam.

"How high is her fever?" Fury asked.

"Somewhere around 103." Clint reported.

"I hope Tony and Steve blow them to Pluto." Fury growled. Natasha's pained moan brought Clint and Fury's attention back to her.

"We got her out just in time. I think she's got some pretty bad pneumonia, and her fever's high enough that she's starting to become delirious. They've broken at least eight bones as well." Clint told Fury worriedly.

"How's her breathing?" Fury asked.

"It's getting steadily worse." Clint answered. Natasha coughed painfully and forcefully enough that she threw up. Clint immediately came to her aid and started cleaning up the mess.

"Clint, I feel horrible." She mumbled. Clint stopped cleaning and pushed the bangs off her forehead and kissed her gently on her burning skin.

"I know Nat. We're going to fix you up." Clint promised. Natasha nodded and took a deep breath, but it caught and she started to struggle to breathe. Her eyes grew wide with fear, causing her breathing to become worse.

"Nat! Calm down baby. Focus on me." Clint begged and grabbed and oxygen mask from the supply cart. He strapped it down over her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief as it helped her to calm down.

"Alright Barton. We're descending. I've got a team waiting for her." Fury reported. Clint nodded and ran his hands calmly through Nat's hair.

"Almost home Nat. Almost home." He promised. Natasha smiled weakly and closed her eyes and nodded in understanding.


	2. I'll Always Find You (Part 2)

They unloaded Natasha in record time and Clint never left his side as they pushed her quickly to the infirmary. Clint could tell that now that she felt safe, her adrenaline was wearing off and the full extent of her injuries was hitting her. He held the hand of her uninjured arm for support the whole time that S.H.I.E.L.D's doctors worked on her. Once they pushed anesthesia into her IV it took only ten minutes for her to go completely unconscious. Even then Clint still held her hand. He refused to move. It took them an hour to set and stabilize her elbow before they could pop her shoulder back in. Thankfully her shoulder wasn't separated so it was an easy fix. Her elbow on the other hand was badly broken and in the process of its breaking; it had split her radius down the middle, and caused a bit of muscle damage. The doctors were worried that she would never get full strength back in her arm, but Clint knew she would. His Nat was a fighter. Her ankle fracture was easily set and her three broken ribs weren't doing any damage to her lungs. Her pneumonia was the most concerning thing of all. Her fever was almost 104 and her lungs were in nasty shape. They were pumping her full of at least three different antibiotics to try and kill it. The amount of medicine they were pushing through the multiple IV's in her hand was crazy. Clint stayed by her side and never let go of her hand even when they were doing surgery on her elbow. He stayed with her the whole time, much to the disgust of the doctors. True to his name he always kept an eye on her. He refused to let Fury debrief him until Natasha woke up. They kept her sedated so she could heal about twelve hours before they began to wean her off the anesthesia. Her fever was still on the high end of 103; and that worried Clint immensely. He knew antibiotics weren't miracle drugs, but he had hoped they would have seen results before then. Nat didn't wake up for another two hours after they took her off anesthesia, around ten in the morning she opened her eyes. She blinked rapidly and groaned softly as everything came into focus around her. The first thing she saw was Clint smiling like the loveable idiot she loved at her.

"Nat. I'm so glad you're awake." Clint told her happily. Natasha smiled slightly and sighed heavily.

"Me… too…Everything…hurts." She told him breathlessly. Clint smiled sadly and ran his hand comfortingly through her hair.

"I know. I'm sorry." He told her sadly. She groaned in discomfort.

"What all did they break?" She asked roughly and started coughing loudly. Clint winced.

"Your elbow is shattered, the doctors don't know if you'll get full strength back in it. You have three broken ribs, and an ankle facture as well." Clint explained. Nat nodded.

"How bad is the pneumonia? I've never felt so horrible in my life." She croaked. Clint sighed.

"You've got a fever upwards of 103, the inflammation is in both your lungs and it is not good." He answered. Natasha sighed and tried to shift in the infirmary bed. Her attempts were thwarted by intense pain washing over her. A strangled cry of pain escaped her lips and Clint was instantly on his feet to help her adjust without hurting herself further. The doctors had instructed Clint to make sure that her elbow and ankle remained propped up on pillows at all times.

"How much morphine do they have me on?" Natasha asked. Clint shrugged. When it came to pain killers he hadn't asked them how much they were giving her. He wanted them to give her all they could.

"I'm not sure. I could call someone in here if you need more?" Clint suggested. She shook her head.

"It's okay. It's just a painful ache right now." Natasha assured him. Clint didn't look convinced but he let it slide anyway. Natasha sighed and put her IV hand up on her forehead. She could feel the heat radiating off her forehead. It was an uncomfortable dry heat and she now understood why she felt so cold and miserable. Her head felt fuzzy and she had a feeling that she was almost to the point in a fever where you reach delirium. A painful tight feeling rose up in her throat and she felt a coughing fit coming on. She groaned softly and tried to force the coughs back down her esophagus. Her attempts were in vain and however, because a few seconds later the coughs escaped and she erupted into a painful coughing fit. Each sharp rise in noise on the beginning of the cough caused Natasha's head to pound painfully. Nat groaned painfully and closed her eyes tight.

"You need to get some sleep Nat so you can heal. Would it help if I got into bed with you?" Clint suggested. Natasha nodded and sighed deeply. Clint smiled and nodded. He shook off his Hawkeye suit jacket off so he was left in his black under shirt, then he kicked off his heavy duty boot and climbed into bed with the Black Widow. He gently wrapped his arms around her so as not to touch any of her broken bones. Natasha sighed and melted into his arms, she closed her eyes and seconds later slipped into a peaceful sleep.

 _Natasha was tied tightly to a chair in a dark and cold room. She sat with her head hung in defeat gritting her teeth to keep from whimpering or crying out. She refused to let them know how much she was hurting. She couldn't give them the satisfaction of breaking her. Her side ached from where they had whipped her with a belt earlier. She felt pathetic. She never got caught on missions and if she did she always got away on her own. This time had been different though. She had been feeling nauseas for a few mornings before she had been compromised so when they came after her she was already weak and they had managed to thwart the great Black Widow. The door to the room opened and closed and Natasha looked up from staring at the floor to look at who had entered the room. Her captor stood before her with a wicked smile spread across his face._

 _"So Black Widow, where is your team?" He asked sarcastically. Natasha glared at him, but didn't respond. He came closer and grabbed her arm forcefully. Natasha bit her lip and stared him down. "I said, where is your team?" He asked angrily. Natasha shook her head and spit directly in his eyes. Her captor roared angrily and gripped her arm tighter and pushed down hard. A sickening snap echoed through the room and Natasha screamed loudly._

"NAT! Nat calm down. It's just a nightmare. You're safe, I'm here." Clint's voice pulled Natasha out of her fever and stress induced nightmare. Natasha blinked rapidly and first took in Clint's worried face before taking in her surroundings. He was right, she was safely inside S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters. Natasha took in a raspy breath and coughed harshly. Clint rubbed her back until she was finished before he offered her a cup of water.

"Thanks." She croaked out when she had finished her water. Clint smiled and nodded.

"Nat there's something we need to talk about." Clint began. Natasha looked at him curiously. Clint smiled and gestured for Phil Coulson to come closer to Natasha's bed. Nat hadn't even noticed him standing in the corner.

"Natasha, something came back in your blood test that we need to discuss." Phil began. Natasha frowned in concern. What else could possibly be wrong with her?

"Okay." She answered cautiously.

"Nat, your blood levels tell us that you are pregnant." Phil told her.

 _ **Hey Guys! This ends the first two-shot in the series known as Black Arrow. Don't be too mad at me for leaving this at a cliff hanger. You'll get to see snips of what happened in the one-shot I'll post next. Please drop a review and tell me what you think.**_


	3. Getting Somewhere

Natasha shot up in bed panting and sweating. She had just had a horrible nightmare. She looked around the room with narrowed eyes, taking in every detail to see if there were any intruders. When she determined it was safe her shoulders relaxed and she placed a casted hand gently on her barely rounding stomach. Since finding out she was pregnant three weeks ago things had been pretty hectic for the Black Widow. Things at work were a mess. Fury and Coulson were working on how to handle the situation best, so that Nat could work as much as was healthy. They had plenty of time to work it out though. Her elbow and lower arm were still wrapped in an uncomfortable fiberglass cast that itched like you wouldn't believe, and her ankle was still strapped into a bulky black brace. So she wouldn't be back in the field anytime soon. In fact, she wasn't sure that she would get to go back into the field before it became too risky for the baby. Clint stirred next to her and slowly opened his eyes.

"Mm, Nat. Go back to bed." He pleaded. Natasha smiled down at her husband. She nodded and he smiled before closing his eyes again and returning to his peaceful sleep. Natasha sighed and leaned back on her pillows. Recovery had not been easy for her. She had spent a week in the S.H.I.E.L.D infirmary before she was released to come home. During that week she had spent the majority of the time sleeping and trying to fight off the pneumonia before it had a chance to really affect the baby. Her ribs had healed rather fast, but everything else seemed to take its sweet time. Now that she was home and over the pneumonia she was feeling much better, but she still wasn't her old self. Of course, no one expected her to ever be the same. Especially since she was eleven weeks pregnant with her and Clint's baby. It still blew Natasha's mind how she had even gotten pregnant in the first place. Before she had left to go undercover she and Clint had been so careful. Not to mention the graduation process in the Red Room had pretty much killed Natasha's chances at having a kid to begin with. Clint kept calling it their little miracle baby, and she honestly loved that. He was right after all, this baby really was a miracle. That's exactly what she kept thinking as she drifted back to sleep.

She was awoken a few hours later by the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen. Natasha smiled to herself and pulled herself out of bed. She wandered into the master bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then she ran a comb lazily through her fiery red hair before wandering lazily into the kitchen. Clint smiled when he heard the sound of his wife's ankle brace scraping against the hardwood dining room floor. She smiled back to him and hobbled into the kitchen. She plopped down at one of the bar stools and propped her head up with her uninjured arm while the injured one hung lazily at her side.

"Good morning." She murmured. Clint smiled and leaned across the bar to kiss her on her cheek.

"Morning Nat. How are you feeling this morning?" He asked and turned back to the skillet that sat on the stove.

"Tired, but okay." She answered.

"Anything hurting?" He asked and flipped a piece of bacon over.

"My arm itches, and my ankle hurts a little. The baby is fine though, and that is all that matters." Natasha answered. Clint smiled to himself. She was so right. The most important thing in the world to him right now was Natasha and their baby's safety. Clint turned to look at her again briefly. She was so breathtaking to him, even more so now that she had that motherly glow to her. She just radiated beauty.

"Big day today! OB/GYN appointment and Orthopedic appointment." Clint announced and turned the gas on the stove off. Behind him Natasha nodded slowly. It was a pretty big day, and she sincerely hoped she would receive a good report on all accounts. Clint turned around and placed a plate overflowing with eggs and bacon in front of her. Natasha smiled and leaned up to kiss Clint on the cheek.

"Thanks." She told him and started to dig in. Since returning from captivity, and hardly receiving any food; Natasha now ate almost anything she could get her hands on. Her excuse was that she was now eating for two. After enjoying breakfast together the two assassins found themselves sitting in the Orthopedic doctor's waiting room, Natasha kept picking at her cast and it was starting to drive Clint insane. Finally after a painful twenty minutes of waiting the called Nat back to get some new x-rays taken. Using actual doctors drove Natasha insane, but because of Fury's personal request here they were. After the x-rays were taken and Natasha had been cut out of her arm cast, they waited in silence in an exam room for at least a half an hour before the doctor decided to make an appearance. He smiled graciously at the pair as he walked into the room with a large folder tucked under his arm. He closed the door behind him and walked over to a light board on the wall furthest from where Natasha was sitting.

"Good morning guys. How are you felling Natalie?" He asked as he slapped images of Natasha's arm and ankle bones up on the screen. Natasha rolled her eyes at the pseudonym Fury was making her use.

"My ankle is a little sore, but other than that okay." She answered. Dr. Gregg nodded.

"Well, I'm just going to get right to it then. The bones in your arm are healing really well actually. I'm going to pull the pins out of your elbow before I recast it. You shouldn't need another cast after this one I'm about to give you. Your ankle on the other hand is actually getting a little worse. You can kind of see on the images that fuzzy white section is your Achilles tendon. It actually looks like its tearing a bit which is what is making your ankle bones actually unalign as opposed to re-aligning them. So I'm going to have to upgrade you from a brace to one of these lovely walking boots." He explained and pulled a black walking boot from the shelf in the room. Natasha sighed and leaned back slightly in exasperation. Clint squeezed her hand encouragingly. "I'm going to go get some cast materials. Clay you can put the boot on your wife if you'd like." Dr. Gregg said and slipped back out of the room.

"No wonder it was hurting you that bad." Clint told Natasha sadly as he slowly pulled her ankle brace off. Then he picked up the walking boot and unstrapped it so it would slide on her foot easily. Natasha winced slightly as he strapped it on tight.

"Hopefully I heal completely before I start getting too big." She groaned. Clint smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic Nat. You'll be fine in just a few weeks. I promise." He assured her. Two hours later the assassins found themselves in an entirely different exam room. Nat was laid down on her back staring at the ceiling with her non casted hand resting on her baby bump. She was so nervous about the appointment with her OB. She wanted more than anything in the world for this baby to be healthy even though its mom wasn't in the best shape right now. The door opening and closing brought her back to reality and out of her thoughts. Her OB Dr. Nelson smiled from the entryway and came closer to the exam table.

"How are we doing today Mr. and Mrs. Benson?" She asked and sat Natasha's chart down on the ultrasound machine.

"Good." Natasha answered and glanced over at Clint. He smiled and nodded.

"Awesome. Well first let's take a look at your baby and then we will run some tests. Sound good?" Dr. Nelson asked. Clint and Natasha nodded. Dr. Nelson smiled and nodded. She grabbed the ultrasound gel off the top of the machine. "Roll up your shirt, and brace yourself. This is pretty cold." She warned. Natasha did as she was asked and Dr. Nelson squirted some gel onto Natasha's still flat stomach. Natasha gasped slightly at just how cold it really was. She had not been expecting that. Dr. Nelson moved the radar around until a swooshing sound filled the room.

"Is that the heartbeat?" Clint asked. Dr. Nelson smiled and nodded but didn't look up from the ultrasound screen. She smiled again, a little wider this time and turned the screen so Clint and Natasha could see.

"And right here is your baby." She told them and pointed to a point on the screen. Natasha broke out into a huge grin.

"Our baby is so beautiful." She gushed to Clint with a smile on her face. Clint nodded.

"Indeed." He agreed.

"It's also a very healthy baby." Dr. Nelson reported.


	4. Patching Up Piece By Piece

Natasha winced as the arrow struck the target slightly to the left of the bulls-eye, and an unhappy twinge of pain shot through her elbow. She'd been at the range in the Avengers Tower for the last hour shooting arrows. She was trying to build the strength in her elbow and arm back.

"Easy Widow, that's my job." Clint's voice called from behind. Natasha whipped around to face Clint. He was leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, and he was smirking. She rolled her eyes at him and notched another arrow.

"How was the mission?" She asked and fired the arrow. This one hit a little above the bulls-eye and it hurt a little more than the last, but Natasha didn't let it show in her facial expression. Clint smiled to himself at his wife's determination. Clint came up behind the female assassin and wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled slightly to herself as his hands came to rest on her small baby bump. Now that the cast on her arm was gone and she was getting out of the morning sickness phase, Natasha loved being pregnant. Clint sighed and helped Natasha notch another arrow.

"The mission was alright but I miss my partner." Clint whispered in her ear. Natasha smiled.

"I miss it too. Tell my physical therapist to clear my elbow and tell my orthopedic doctor to take this dumb boot off me." Natasha groaned. Clint smiled and kissed her ear affectionately.

"I love you." He whispered. Natasha rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You're lucky I love you." She glared. Clint smiled. "Did you get hurt any?" Natasha asked. Clint shrugged.

"Just some bruises and cuts. The usual." Clint told her. Natasha turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"I can tell when you're hiding something from me. What else is hurt?" Natasha asked. Clint smiled and pointed to his bicep. Natasha sat the bow and arrow down on the ground and turned her attention to Clint. She pulled his shirt sleeve up over his toned muscles to expose his right bicep. There was a deep gash on his bicep and he winced sharply when she ran her fingers along the laceration. "Clint this is really deep. It's a good thing that you wore your sleeveless suit or you would be paying a fortune on a patch job. Does Fury know about this?" Natasha asked. Clint shook his head.

"It wasn't important. It only bled for like twenty minutes." Clint said brushing it off nonchalantly.

"Twenty minutes!? Oh my gosh Clint!" Natasha gasped. Clint smiled sheepishly.

"It's fine Nat. I promise." He assured her. Natasha reached and up and touched it. Clint hissed at the pain. Natasha pulled her finger away and showed it to Clint. There was bright red blood on it.

"It's still bleeding. It is not fine. You need stitches." Natasha told him seriously. Clint rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to S.H.I.E.L.D for this." He insisted.

"Fine you big baby. I'll stitch up here then." Natasha retorted. Clint groaned but willingly followed her out of the firing range and through the lower floors of the Avengers Tower. She walked in front of him and Clint smiled at her adorable hobbling limp. The heavy black boot on her foot weighed even her usually lighter than air form. He knew she was annoyed with it beyond belief and itching to get some field work in before she was shoved on permanent desk duty until after the baby was born. Clint honestly couldn't wait for her to get a bigger baby bump. He was ecstatic to lay in bed next to her and talk to their baby. It blew his mind every time he said that. She was carrying their baby. Together they had made this awesome life that was forming inside his smoking hot wife. He was looking forward to the day when he could tell the rest of the team about the baby. His wife nor his director would let him tell them yet and it was driving him crazy. He could tell that Pepper was starting to get suspicious, but none of the other people in the Avengers Tower noticed anything. Finally Natasha took a sharp left into a room. Clint followed her sheepishly into the fully stocked medical bay. If he was being completely honest the gash in his arm did hurt pretty bad, but he didn't want to admit that to Nat. The last thing she needed was to worry.

"Let's get this over with." Clint groaned and sat down in one of the chairs against the wall. Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled a suture kit out of a cabinet. She offered Clint a small smile before she started to disinfect the wound. Clint gasped. "Oh my God Nat!" He yelped as the alcohol from the disinfectant seeped into his cut.

"Well if you had gotten it looked at earlier it wouldn't have as many germs in it." Natasha snapped. Clint sighed.

"I'm sorry Nat. I didn't want to worry you." Clint admitted ashamed.

"I'd rather you tell me the truth from the beginning." Natasha told him. Clint smiled and nodded.

"I will next time babe. I promise." He answered. Natasha nodded and jabbed a needle at the end of his scar. He didn't even flinch.

"I figured you might want some numbing agent. Remember how tightly I pulled last time?" Natasha teased and started to stitch up the cut. Clint rolled his eyes and tried not to dwell on that particular memory. Natasha was definitely good at patching him up, a little too good at it. Clint winced as she pulled one stitch particularly tight.

"Dang Nat. Take it easy." Clint complained. Natasha rolled her eyes and kept right on stitching.

"Don't be such a baby." She told him annoyed. Clint rolled his eyes in return. Natasha suddenly stopped mid stitch and grabbed her stomach.

"Nat. Are you okay?" He asked nervously. The Black Widow shook her head and took in a shaky breath. "Nat, you're scaring me. Just tell me what's wrong. Are you in pain?" Clint asked. Natasha shook her head and turned quickly to throw up in the trash can beside her. Clint was instantly at her side comforting her and holding back her fiery red hair. Natasha's body lurched forward again and she vomited once more. "Easy Nat. Just breathe." He coached. Clint's heart broke for his wife. He knew it was just a part of being pregnant, but it still hurt him to see her get sick. She moaned softly and leaned back on him for support. He accepted her into his embrace and just held her while she calmed back down. The pair of assassins fell asleep just like that.


	5. Hitting Hard

It was a particularly nasty blow to the knee that sent Natasha tumbling to the ground. She hit the pavement hard and instinctively placed her right hand on her stomach while her left hard went down to her left knee. Her opponent had delivered a swift hit to her knee with his current weapon of choice, a bat. Natasha bit her lip and prayed the next blow he delivered wasn't to her barely noticeable baby bump. She knew now that her knee was hurting this bad that there was no hope of her fighting back and winning. She had only just gotten back on the mission field two weeks ago and already she was hurt again. Something about being pregnant just threw her off her groove so much. The blow from her opponent never came. She looked up just in time to see the arrow drive deep into his chest. Her opponent fell backwards instantly dead. Natasha sighed in relief and turned in the direction the arrow had come from. Clint was running toward her with concern written all over his face.

"Nat! Are you alright?" He asked as he reached her. She shook her head as she finally let the tears fall.

"I think he broke my knee." She choked out. Clint's heart broke for his wife. He knelt down and carefully slid his arms underneath her knees and neck. He lifted her up gently and carried her over to the safest place in the vicinity. He laid her down gently on the floor and knelt down to get a good look at her rapidly swelling knee. Clint could tell she was in indescribable pain even though she was trying to hide it.

"I need an evac now. Nat's down hard." Clint called into his com. Clint gently probed the tissue on Natasha's knee to access the damage. Nat cried out sharply the second Clint touched her knee.

"Oh my God. It's got to be shattered." Natasha gasped out. Clint sighed and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Did he hit your stomach?" Clint asked worriedly. Natasha shook her head.

"I think peanut is okay." She told him. Clint smiled and nodded.

"That is awesome. I think there's some muscle damage here Nat." Clint told her worriedly, the smile wiping off his face.

"Maybe the universe is telling me to stop until after the baby." Nat told Clint sadly. Clint nodded.

"I think you should listen. You can work with Hill for now." He suggested. She nodded. "Where is that damn evac." Clint growled. Natasha smiled through her pain and tears.

"I'm sure it's coming. God this hurts so bad." Nat winced.

"Fury. Where's my evac?" Clint asked into his com. Natasha sighed and closed her eyes tightly at the pain. Clint looked down at her worriedly and felt his heart break anymore. She was in so much pain, he was almost certain this was hurting her more than all of her injuries put together from being held hostage. He was deeply concerned for the damage to her knee. He couldn't even see the extent of the swelling because of her suit but he knew it wasn't good. He knew some of the bones were broken and he suspected there was some ACL damage. Their target had been more aggressive than they had thought. They weren't expecting them to be waiting for them. They had been expecting them, and Nat was paying for it now.

"Evac in-route Hawk. ETA 5 minutes." Agent Maria Hill's voice came over the com in both of their ears.

"Five more minutes babe. Hang in there. We're going to have to get that suit off you." Clint told Natasha. The wounded Widow nodded slowly.

"This is going to be so painful." She told him wincing. Clint nodded. Thankfully the evac arrived on time. The medics carefully lifted Natasha on to a stretcher and then on to the craft. Natasha slowly and painfully changed out of her cat suit into a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt once on board before letting anyone look at her knee. Ten minutes after getting on board she was laying down on an exam table with her knee propped up on a mountain of pillows. Clint was positioned near her head holding her right hand in case she needed something to squeeze while they examined her knee. Coulson was standing in the corner of the room observing. The doctor pulled the x-ray machine over and started to get ready to take the pictures. Even the slightest movement to her knee made Natasha's body go rigid from the pain. Now that her knee wasn't restrained by her tight suit it had swollen immensely and it was obvious that bones were broken.

"Fury is benching you until further notice." Coulson told Natasha. Clint nodded.

"I really think that is a good idea." Clint told Natasha. She sighed but nodded.

"I agree." She decided. Clint smiled and kissed her gently on her hand. Natasha smiled. The doctor slid the pillows out from under her knee and replaced them with a board for the x-rays. Natasha winced as her knee hit the board. "God can we just cut it off." Natasha complained. Clint smiled sympathetically and squeezed her hand tightly.

"Hang in there baby girl." Clint encouraged her. She nodded and bit her lip. Two hours later Natasha was laying as comfortably as possible in her room on the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier. Her knee was wrapped in a compression ace bandaged and elevated on multiple pillows. X-rays had confirmed several small fractures in the top of Tibia and the Patella. Once the swelling in Natasha's knee goes down they were going to do an MRI to see the kind of muscle damage the bat had left. Natasha was left alone in the room trying to relax while Clint was in a meeting with Fury. Sitting around doing nothing, even though she was injured was driving her insane and she wanted more than anything to get out and do something. Just when Natasha was contemplating if death would be less boring, Maria Hill wandered into her room. Natasha smiled at her friend and gestured for her to sit down on the end of the bed.

"How are you holding up?" Maria asked as she eased herself down on to the bed.

"I'm bored out of my mind. Please save me." Natasha joked. Maria smiled.

"Desk life isn't so bad. You'll be my right hand woman. It'll be great." Maria told her in attempt to cheer her up. Natasha smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. I think it's a good idea to stop even after my knee heals to come back until after the baby anyways. I spend all mission worrying something will happen so my game is noticeably off. Desk life will be good for me." Natasha reasoned. Maria nodded and smiled.

"I'll try not to make it unbearable." Maria joked. Natasha smiled. Maybe desk life wouldn't be so bad.


	6. Breaking Point

"Nat babe, it's time to go to bed." Clint told the red head as he approached her cautiously. Natasha shook her head and kept going.

"Ten more minutes." Natasha argued and stretched her knee out as much as she could even though it hurt like fire.

"Nat stop. You don't have to do that anymore. Therapy is over for the day. Come on." Clint begged.

"No Clint! I am not stopping until I've reached my breaking point. My knee has to heal, I will not be on desk duty the rest of my life." Natasha snapped. Her knee gave out and she hit the ground. Clint sighed and went to help her up. "No, don't help me." Natasha told him and pulled herself up and on to her crutches.

"Nat, you need to let me help you. Please, for our son." Clint begged. Natasha visibly crumbled. She sighed and sat down in the nearby chair. She placed her head into her hands and started to cry. Clint rarely saw Natasha cry and it hurt him to see her like that. He sighed and walked over to her. He placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder and felt her tightened muscles instantly relax. She sighed and leaned clumsily into his side. Clint smiled and wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. "Your therapist says you're doing great, way ahead of schedule. Don't push yourself too hard babe or you'll make it worse." Clint reasoned gently with her. Natasha nodded and looked up at him. Her eyes were wet and tears stained her cheeks. Clint felt himself melt. His heart broke to see her hurting like this. He had never seen his Nat look so defeated.

"I just hate not feeling one hundred percent." Natasha confessed. Clint smiled and kissed her gently on her forehead.

"Babe, you're going to get there. I promise, you're too stubborn not to get there again. Come on, let's go to bed." Clint suggested. Natasha sighed and nodded. She made to get up, but Clint swopped her up before she could and started to carry her through the bottom floor of Avengers Tower and over to the elevator. Natasha wanted to protest, but she was too tired and worn out to bother. Before they even reached their private floor of the tower she was fast asleep curled up in his arms. Clint smiled widely and took in how beautiful she was to him. He prayed that he never stopped finding her that breathtaking. He was so excited to have a baby with her. He was positive their kid would be amazing. He hoped it was a girl and he hoped if it was she would look just like her mother. Finally the elevator doors slid open and Clint carried her through their private apartment on the sixth floor of Avengers tower. Clint was glad he had spent several years working out, otherwise his arms would have been killing him when he finally reached their bedroom. Nat was eighteen weeks pregnant now and she had an adorable baby bump. Clint loved everything about it, he just wished she would stop beating herself up over the knee injury. The fractures technically weren't even healed all the way and he was afraid she was only going to make it worse. He reached the bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed. She didn't even make any attempt to wake up. Clint smiled and gently removed her heavy knee brace. She wasn't supposed to fall asleep in it, but she did all the time, and Clint had become an expert at getting it off her without waking her up. He removed the brace and placed it on the bedside table where she could find it easily the next morning. Then he wandered back into the main area of their private floor. It was only ten o'clock and he just wasn't tired yet. He found himself sitting on the floor in the room that would soon be their kid's room. The walls were painted a sky blue color and an oak crib was pushed against the wall. That was as far as they had gotten with the room. Clint was always on a mission and Natasha couldn't do the work without him. Clint sighed and leaned back against the wall. He found himself staring at the crib and imagining what it was going to be like to bring home their miracle. He was lost in thought so he didn't hear Natasha come into the room until she was standing next to him. He looked up at her and frowned when he noticed she wasn't wearing any kind of brace.

"Babe what are doing out of bed?" Clint asked. Natasha shrugged and eased herself down to sit next to Clint on the floor, she was careful not to bend her knee but it still hurt a little. Clint smiled and pulled her in close to him. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

"It's hard to sleep when you're not there to hold me." She confessed. Clint smiled and stroked her shoulder length red hair. She had let her hair grow out recently and Clint loved playing with it and running his hands through it.

"Well then let's go back to bed and I'll hold you." Clint suggested. Nat didn't move at all. Clint craned his head to get a good look at her. He smiled and chuckled softly when he realized she had already fallen asleep again. Clint placed a soft kiss on her forehead before carefully getting up from the floor. He bent over and picked Natasha up in his arms again.


	7. Give Life

Clint shot up in bed when he felt Natasha tense up next to him. He glanced over and found that she was still asleep, but her face was scrunched up in pain and her breathing was slightly ragged. Her left arm was draped over her now rather prominent baby bump. Clint sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. Nat stirred and opened her eyes. Clint smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"You okay babe? You were tensing up and looked like you were in pain." Clint asked gently. Nat nodded slowly and curled into Clint's side. Clint smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Are you sure?" He pressed carefully.

"My knee hurts a little." She confessed.

"Do you want me to massage it again?" Clint asked. Nat bit her lip and shook her head.

"No it's fine. I'm fine." She lied. Clint shook his head, he did not buy it for one second. He decided not to pick this fight and instead let it slide. He slid back down in bed and snuggled up next to Natasha. He held her into his side tightly and fell asleep only a few minutes later. When he woke up again she was moaning again. This time she seemed to be in more pain than the first time.

"Nat." He woke her up gently again. Natasha blinked awake and winced. She grabbed at her stomach that time.

"Ouch." She breathed roughly. Clint went into high alert.

"Nat?" He asked a little more sternly.

"Your damn son is gabbing me in the rib cage." She groaned. Clint cracked a smile.

"Like father, like son." Clint joked lightly. Natasha shook her head and sighed. She tensed up suddenly and gasped for breath. Clint went back into protective mode. "Nat, I don't think that is just kicking." Clint told her quietly.

"It can't be contractions, it's too early. He's not ready damn it." Natasha argued through gritted teeth.

"Nat come on, he's my son. He doesn't play by the rules. We at least need to get you looked at." Clint pressed. Nat bit her lip but nodded and reached over to turn the lamp on.

"Will you grab the bag out of the nursery, I'll work on getting out of bed. I've got to put my knee brace on." Nat told him. Clint nodded and got out of bed quickly. He ran through their apartment on the seventh floor of Avenger's Tower. The nursery was a couple rooms down from the master bedroom. Clint grabbed the bag from the changing table and ran back to the master bedroom. Natasha was struggling to strap on her heavy and complex knee brace. Clint smiled and knelt down in front of her. He carefully strapped the knee brace on and helped Nat to her feet.

An hour later Nat was doped up on pain medication laying in her hospital bed. The doctors had admitted her after determining that she was in fact, in preterm labor. Clint was worried sick, and if Natasha wasn't so out of it, she probably would be too. Right now she was fast asleep in her bed. The doctor had determined that she wasn't very far along, and they were in for a long night, and morning. She was about two centimeter dilated and his contractions weren't very close together yet. They had tried to stop the progression of the labor with medications, but it wasn't working for her. Clint yawned and checked his watch; it was two in the morning and he was already exhausted. He really hoped things would start to speed up for Nat. He didn't want to see her in pain very long. It was by definition his Kryptonite. He just couldn't handle it, it hurt him in his very soul. They had Nat's knee unbraced again, and propped up on pillows. Due to the added stress and weight from carrying a baby her knee hadn't been able to heal properly from its' shattering on the mission several weeks ago. She would have to undergo extensive surgery once the baby was born before she would be able to even think about going back into the field. Clint found himself falling asleep in his stiff hospital chair. When he woke up again Nat was still asleep but Pepper and Tony were peeking into the room. Clint smiled when he saw them and stood up to greet them.

"Hey man, how is she?" Tony asked and wrapped Clint into a man hug. Pepper chuckled and went to sit down on the end of Nat's bed instead. Clint checked his watch and leaned against the wall before he addressed Tony's question.

"She's been asleep for about five hours now." Clint remarked, since it was six in the morning now. "She wasn't very far but they can't seem to stop the contractions. They've got her on some strong pain medicine, about as strong as they could without it being harmful to the baby. So she's pretty much knocked out right now." Clint explained. Tony nodded and ran a bandaged hand through his spikey brown hair.

"I was knocked out." Natasha said roughly as she slowly opened her eyes. Clint smiled and went over to her. He kissed her on her forehead and pushed some of her hair back.

"How you feeling babe?" He asked. Natasha shrugged.

"I'm okay." She promised.

"Handling it like a champ, just like we thought." Pepper joked. Nat gave her friend a weak smile and nodded.

"Doing my best anyway." She laughed lightly. Pepper smiled and grabbed the hand free of IV's.

"You'll do great." Pepper encouraged. Natasha nodded. She'd fought Russian operatives ten to one and survived before, she could totally deliver a baby.

At four in the afternoon when Natasha was ten centimeters dilated and finally ready to push she wasn't so convinced anymore that she could do this. Clint never left her side though and he kept whispering words of encouragement in her ear.

"Come on Nat, you can do this. You're doing great champ." Clint encouraged. Her body felt like it was being torn apart, but she bit her lip and pushed again. After a few seconds she groaned and fell back onto the pillows in defeat.

"You're doing great Natasha, I just need you to push a few more times for me." Her doctor encouraged. Natasha nodded and pushed again. "Great job. I can see the head. Keep going." Nat never stopped pushing. Suddenly a cry rang out through the room and Nat flopped back down onto the pillows again.

"You did it babe." Clint beamed with pride and pushed Natasha's sweaty hair off her forehead before he kissed it.

"Congratulations guys, it's a very healthy baby boy." The doctor announced and handed their son to Natasha. She looked down at the bundle of blue blankets and felt her heart skip a beat. He was beautiful. His piercing blue eyes looked up at her blankly.

"Oh my God. Clint, he's so beautiful." She gushed. Clint smiled and nodded. "Maxim Clint Barton. He's the most perfect thing in the world."


	8. Hope and Remembering

Maxim took aim and let out a held breath as he fired the arrow. It struck the target smack in the middle with precision. Clint grinned and clapped softly. Maxim turned his head and smiled widely at his father.

"You're too good at that for your age." Clint chuckled. Maxim's smile grew. Max was only four and already he had his father's talent for archery. He was definitely proud of himself too, but not near as proud as his daddy was.

"Teaching him some more tricks?" Natasha asked as she came into the training room. Clint grinned and winked.

"You know it. Our son is going to be the next Hawkeye Nat." Clint bragged. Natasha chuckled and shook her head.

"Especially if his daddy has anything to say on the matter." She teased. Clint rolled his eyes and kissed her on the lips.

"Hey it's all his decision. I've never pressured him either way." Clint defended. Natasha rolled her eyes back at Clint in return.

"You're doing a great job baby." Natasha encouraged as Maxim notched another arrow and got ready to fire. Clint wrapped Natasha into a loving hug and kissed her on the top of her fire red hair.

"Are you feeling better today?" Clint asked her. Natasha shrugged.

"I'm still a little queasy." She admitted. Clint frowned and felt her forehead and neck for a fever.

"You aren't running a fever. Are you just nauseas?" Clint asked. Natasha nodded but shrugged it off.

"I'm sure it's nothing Clint, don't worry about me too much. You know I hate that." She told him sternly. Clint smiled sheepishly and glanced at Maxim. Natasha noticed his glance and shook her head at Clint. "Don't even Clint, you know it is not possible. Maxim was a miracle." Nat reminded him. Clint shook his head in return.

"Nat, miracles still happen. I'm just saying you've been feeling like this for a couple days now. It's just like it was before. Please, let's just go get it looked at just in case." Clint suggested. Natasha sighed but nodded her head, if nothing else it would make Clint leave her alone for a while. It wasn't that she didn't want more kids, because she desperately did. She just didn't want to get her hopes up. It had been basically impossible that she would be able to even have Maxim, let alone more children. It was natural and honestly practical for her to be pessimistic.

She felt ridiculous sitting on the exam table two days later as the nurse drew her blood and asked her all about her symptoms. She was certain she wasn't pregnant and Clint looked so hopeful from his seat in the corner that she felt her heart breaking into a million pieces. Maxim was out with his Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper at the park today, and this whole mess made Natasha wish he was closer than ever. Her heart was at war with itself today, she didn't want to get her hopes up but at the same time she wanted so badly to be pregnant. Even though she and Clint hadn't been actively trying to have children since they had given up a year and a half ago. They had been trying for a whole year before they had quit. It was tearing up their marriage before they had decided to stop. Now they were much better, but it was still a rough topic for both of them. The nurse finished taking her blood and left to go deliver it to the lab.

"You know I'm still going to love you no matter what happens." Clint reminded her. Natasha nodded and closed her eyes before leaning back against the wall.

Budapest several years before

"Nat watch your six!" Clint yelled into the com. Natasha spun around quickly and intercepted what would be fatal blow to the head with her fist. She felt the impact crack a finger bone, but she kept fighting her offender anyways. An arrow shot through his chest and he fell to the ground. Natasha briefly acknowledged Clint's shot and moved on in the mission. Her finger throbbed but she kept going. She was a trained assassin, broken bones didn't slow her down. She weaved in and out of rooms and pushed her way toward the objective at the center of the building. She took comfort in knowing Clint was covering her from above. She could hear him creeping across the rafters. She knew no one else could hear him, he was too good for untrained ears to pick up on the noise. She heard an arrow fly and turned just in time to watch the henchman hit the ground a few feet from her. How had she not heard him coming? The pain must be distracting her more than she realized. She thanked Clint silently and turned back to the mission at hand. The mission came to a sudden end when Clint stuck and arrow through the target's chest as soon as Natasha opened the door to his office. Clint landed on his feet next to Natasha with a thud. He smirked and slung his bow over his right shoulder before he bent down and pulled the arrow out of the target's chest. He wiped the blood off on the man's shirt and stuck it back in his quiver.

"Show off." Nat murmured and turned off the electricity to her suit. Clint smirked again.

"Come on, let's go meet Fury at the rendezvous point." He decided and started walking off. Natasha rolled her eyes and followed him anyways. She briefly checked over her finger as she did. It was definitely broken. She frowned and shook her head. This was going to be fun to deal with, considering the plans that were laid out for tonight. Once on board the S.H.I.E.L.D transport Clint reached out to hold Natasha's hand and she pulled away from him. He frowned and glanced over at her. "Are you really mad at me for getting the final kill?" He asked defensively. Nat rolled her eyes.

"God no, Clint my finger is busted up." Natasha told him annoyed. Clint's defensive stance crumbled and he picked up her hand to investigate. Her ring finger was bent, swollen, and purple.

"Dear Lord Nat!" He gasped.

"Can we not do wedding rings tonight?" Nat begged. Clint chuckled and nodded.

"I have a better idea. First we need to get this x-rayed." He insisted and kissed it gently, making sure that no one was watching.

Present day

Natasha smiled at the memory and opened her eyes again. Clint was looking at her with a confused look on his face. She shot him an encouraging look and he smiled back at her.

"I'm still going to love you too Clint. No matter what." Natasha promised and grabbed the arrow necklace between her fingers and held onto it for dear life.


	9. Remember When

_Previously on Black Arrow:_

 _Natasha smiled at the memory and opened her eyes again. Clint was looking at her with a confused look on his face. She shot him an encouraging look and he smiled back at her._

 _"I'm still going to love you too Clint. No matter what." Natasha promised and grabbed the arrow necklace between her fingers and held onto it for dear life._

Clint smiled widely at Natasha and nodded. He knew their love was deeper than that, but it always helped him to have that fact re-affirmed. Clint could never have imagined that when Director Furry had ordered the hit on the famed Black Widow, that they would end up falling in love a couple of years later. Clint definitely never imagined they would have an amazing son like Maxim either. He wanted more than anything for there to be a mini Natasha in the future, but he knew he would love her just the same if it didn't happen. He was more than aware that the Red Room was supposed to have made Natasha infertile, but Maxim was a miracle, and Clint firmly believed that there was always a chance that there could be another miracle.

"I bet Tony is spoiling Maxim rotten as we speak." Clint joked. Natasha laughed lightly and nodded.

"Oh, I guarantee it." She agreed and pushed a piece of fiery red hair behind her ear. Clint smiled and shook his head, thinking back to Budapest.

Budapest Several Years Ago

Natasha sat calmly on the medical exam table while a S.H.I.E.L.D doctor worked on her hand. Clint could tell she was trying her best not to wince or show any signs of the pain she was in. Clint could see right through her. He knew she was suffering in silence. But he knew better than to say anything. She would kill him if he let anyone know she was hurting. Clint pushed off from the wall he was leaning on and walked closer to Natasha and the doctor. Natasha glanced up at Clint and forced a smile.

"How bad is it?" Clint asked the doctor.

"It's definitely broken." The doctor mused. Nat cursed under her breath. "We need to get x-rays. I'm just trying to stabilize it until we can get to the base." The doctor told me. Clint nodded and fought the urge to wrap Natasha in a hug and comfort her. He knew they had agreed to keep their relationship a secret to keep each other safe, but he just wanted to be open about it. Director Furry walked over to the trio with Coulson hot on his heels.

"We'll be at the base in thirty minutes. How does it look doc?" Furry asked the doctor.

"I need x-rays to see the true extent of damage, but it's obviously broken. I need to immobilize it, or there will be permanent damage." The doctor answered. Furry cursed and shook his head.

"Romanoff, how does it feel?" He asked her directly. Natasha shrugged.

"I've had worse." She dismissed the question.

"Romanoff, be straight with me." Furry asked again.

"It's the worst break I've had so far." Natasha caved. Clint felt his heart break. She never confessed pain. Especially not to Furry and Coulson.

Three hours later Clint sat near Natasha's bedside. Their plans for tonight hadn't exactly gone as planned. Budapest had definitely been a mission to remember. Instead of making a big statement of their love like they had planned. Nat had gone through a small operation just to align the bones in her hand that were skewed. Nat's eyes fluttered open and she grimaced as the pain hit her. Her eyes fell on Clint and she forced a smile.

"Sorry about our plans." Nat apologized. Clint smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I brought the plans to you." Clint said and Director Furry and Coulson walked into Natasha's room.

"I hear there is a wedding going on?" Coulson asked. Natasha shot Clint a look, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Clint we don't have a minister." Nat protested. Coulson smiled.

"I am an ordained internet minister actually." He offered.

Present Day

Natasha ran her finger along the small incision on her hand, and smiled to herself. It was still one of the most painful injuries she had ever sustained, but it was the source of one of her fondest memories now. The polished arrow necklace around her neck and that tiny scar were some of her favorite things. Clint and Natasha sat in an awkward silence until the doctor finally walked in. He smiled at Clint and Natasha and sat down on a stool in front of Natasha.

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton. I have some good news." He began. Clint stood up and came to stand by Natasha's side. He reached out and grabbed her hand tightly. Her slowly ran his thumb across the small scar. "Agent Romanoff, I think you'll have to give up field work again soon. You're pregnant." The doctor told the pair. Clint broke out into a wide grin, and Natasha laughed lightly and leaned into Clint's embrace.

"Thank you. Will you let Furry know? We need to go tell Maxim." Natasha asked. The doctor smiled and nodded.

"Congratulations guys." He said and left the exam room. Clint kissed Natasha gently on the lips.

"We did it Nat. We beat the odds. God, I hope it's a girl." Clint gushed. Nat smiled and shook her head.

"But we make such cute Clint duplicates." Natasha laughed lightly. Clint rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Let's go get Maxim before Tony ruins him." Clint decided. Nat nodded

"We've been gone several hours, it may already be too late." Nat joked and led Clint out of the room.


	10. Red Scars

Natasha groaned and adjusted the collar on Maxim's shirt. Keeping him dressed neatly was always a struggle.

"CbIH, how do you manage to get your nice shirts so fifthly so quickly?" She huffed. Maxim grinned sheepishly.

"прости мама." Maxim apologized. Natasha smiled and ruffled his spikey hair.

"It's okay Max. Go grab your things, it's time to go home. Make sure you thank Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper before we leave though." She reminded him. Maxim nodded and took off toward Tony and Pepper's son's room. He returned a couple minutes later with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Thanks Aunt Pepper and Uncle Tony. It was a lot of fun." Maxim told his unofficial aunt and uncle as he made for the door.

"Slow down buddy. I need to talk to Aunt Pepper for a second." Natasha called after her son. He nodded and turned to talk to Tony animatedly, probably about some kind of new technology Tony was working on.

"How did it go with the doctor?" Pepper asked when they had moved a safe distance away from the boys.

"I'm pregnant." Natasha confessed. Pepper beamed.

"That's awesome!" Pepper gushed. Nat broke out into a smile.

"Yeah Clint and I are very excited." Nat confessed. "But we're also really cautious to tell everyone until later because of the Red Room. I could miscarry so easily." She added. Pepper smiled gently and pulled Natasha into a hug. Natasha groaned at first but ended up melting into the hug.

"No one is more deserving than the two of you." Pepper assured Natasha. Nat smiled and pulled back.

"Thanks Pepper. What about you and Tony? Have you guys talked about giving Parker a sibling?" Natasha teased. Pepper chuckled lightly and gave Natasha a sly smile. "Wait, are you pregnant?" Natasha asked quietly. Pepper grinned widely.

"Yes. Tony doesn't know yet though. So don't say anything." Pepper said. Natasha smiled.

"I'll take it to the grave. I'm happy for you guys." She told her. Pepper smiled.

"Thanks. Maxim was great by the way. He's such a good kid." Pepper told Natasha. The Black Widow smiled.

"Thanks, we try our best." She joked lightly. Natasha's phone buzzed and she quickly pulled it out to answer. "Agent Romanoff speaking." She snapped into business mode instantly.

"Romanoff, we need you and Barton at headquarters immediately." Agent Hill's voice came through the phone.

"Roger that Hill." Natasha answered and hung up the phone. "Clint, we have to go. Pepper do you guys mind watching Max just a little bit longer?" She asked. Pepper smiled and nodded.

"Yeah no problem. Call us if you find out you need us to watch him longer." Pepper said. Natasha smiled and went over to Maxim. She knelt down in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders gently.

"Hey buddy. Daddy and I have to go to work for a little bit. You're going to stay with Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper for a minute okay?" Natasha told the little boy. Max nodded.

"Okay mommy. Go save the world." He said cheerily. Natasha smiled and kissed him on the top of his head before pulling him into a tight hug.

"We love you buddy." She told him before pulling away. Max smiled and waved goodbye as Natasha and Clint slipped out the front door. Thick tension filled the car as they made their way toward headquarters. Clint drove expertly as they weaved through the crowded streets of New York City.

"Do you think Fury knows already?" Clint asked. Natasha shook her head.

"Hill sounded like it was more urgent than that." She answered. Clint shot her a worried look.

"I don't know how I feel about you going on an urgent mission while you're pregnant. Missions didn't go very well when you were pregnant with Maxim." He said without looking at her. Natasha rolled her eyes and strapped her gun holster onto her thigh.

"I'll go on desk duty toward the end, but I am not taking a back seat this early on. I'll go stir crazy and you know it. No one wants me to be benched for that long." She told him sternly. Clint chuckled and nodded his head. He knew she was right. If she had to sit out for the next seven months everyone would regret it. He also knew better than to try too hard to take care of her. Natasha knew her limits and even though she was stubborn, when it came to matters concerning her kid she knew not to push her limits. Clint was still amazed at how quickly she'd agreed to be benched with Maxim. She'd agreed immediately and went without a fuss. So Clint was confident that when the time came again, she would step back. So he let it drop as they turned into the secret entrance that led down to the Avenger's base. He parked the car at his usual spot and the two made their way into the facility together. Clint adjusted his quiver and bow on his back while Natasha slipped on her spider bites. After scanning handprints and corneas the two spies walked into the main facility. Avengers recruits and personnel littered the main entrance, all headed somewhere fast. It was always like this at the Avengers headquarters, but today it felt even more chaotic. Clint reached over and squeezed Natasha's hand firmly before they started to make their way to the conference room Fury was waiting in.

"I hope we don't have to be away that long. They didn't call Tony in so it can't be that bad." Clint's thoughts found their way out into the open. Natasha nodded in agreement. She had been thinking the exact same thing, but that didn't take away the heavy foreboding feeling she felt. The heavy door slid open as she and Clint approached. Fury and Hill were waiting for them. Hill looked up from her data screens and Fury quit talking to her when Clint and Natasha walked in.

"Agent Romanoff. Agent Barton. Have a seat. We've got a big mission." Director Fury wasted no time in getting down to business. Clint and Natasha shared a glance that each other read perfectly, and sat down next to each other at the conference table.

"We've received some intelligence into the organization known as the Red Room. We think we can take them down." Agent Hill opened. Natasha felt her breath catch in her throat and her heart stopped for a beat. Clint reached his hand out and squeezed her hand tightly.

"We know this hits incredibly close to home Agent Romanoff. We know you'll want to be the one to take them down though." Fury added. Clint turned and made eye contact with Natasha.

"Nat, what do you think?" Clint asked gently. Natasha blinked and took a deep breath.

"Where are they?" She asked evenly. Clint nodded, immediately understanding what she was thinking. He was worried about her going into this while pregnant. The Red Room was the reason that her pregnancy was so high risk, they were the reason why Maxim was so important to them. This was a very fragile situation, but he also knew there was no way she would let other agents take down the organization. He had to be her rock through this, no exceptions. He wouldn't leave her side for a second.

"We've located them in a remote area of Lithuania. They seem to be focusing a lot on experimentation." Hill answered. Natasha gritted her teeth. That had always been the most scarring part of her time in the Red Room. They had been big into experimental drugs and procedures during her time in the Red Room. Natasha had been the subject of several of them herself and so the scars were deep.

"Well then, what the hell are we waiting on?" She asked. Fury smiled, but Clint was worried.


End file.
